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Comment Largest winnable disadvantage (Score 1) 206

by theskov (#39559289) Attached to: Rybka Solves the King's Gambit Chess Opening
An interesting question, is what the most disadvantageous position known, that can still lead to a win is. If that is less than a 5.12 difference, I'd say he has a point in discarding those positions. Otherwise it is demonstrably not a certain conclusion.
I remember one famous game, where the winning side spends the last turns throwing away pieces, only to force a mate through to position gained. I wonder if that play would have been discarded with this approach?
Microsoft

Microsoft Reveals More Windows 8 Details 538

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the eighth-try-is-a-charm dept.
Barence writes "Microsoft has released the first full details of Windows 8, with an all-or-nothing approach to touchscreen technology. All versions of Windows 8 — whether used on a touchscreen device or not — will use the operating system's new Metro interface, which was first developed for Windows Phone 7 devices. The advent of Windows 8 sees Microsoft introduce a new style of application, dubbed Metro Style apps, and its own app store. The company also claims to have boosted Windows 8 performance with fast boot/shutdown times, a new Task Manager and the option to refresh a PC with a clean install of the OS with apps and settings left intact."

Comment But, there really can be a difference (Score 1) 664

by theskov (#36662612) Attached to: Retailer Calls Rivals' Bluff On "HDMI Scam"

While I agree that claiming a better picture from more expensive HDMI cables is just empty sales-talk, there is a valid point which is often/always overlooked in the HDMI debate: You *can* make a better digital cable. Just look at the different grades of network cables (CAT5, CAT6, etc). So there is a very real reason to make better HDMI cables - they will work over longer distances.

I'm not sure that higher price equals better quality, but no matter what, there is such a thing as a "good" and a "bad" HDMI cable. And since none of us really have any idea of the characteristics of the different cables being discussed here, we can't judge whether the cheap ones are as good as the expensive ones. They may very well be, but it isn't a god-given truth, that only simple, non-technical people would doubt.

There are many. many good reasons to laugh at the pricing of many HDMI-cables and the outrageous claims about what they will do, but I feel that a few more nuances in the debate would suit it.
Nintendo

Nintendo, Sony Take Big Financial Hits 119

Posted by Soulskill from the can-we-call-it-a-bubble-yet dept.
The Installer writes with news that Nintendo is seeing a significant financial downturn to match the general slowdown in the rest of the industry. "Sales of the once unstoppable Wii console have tumbled for the first time since its launch three years ago, sending the gaming giant's quarterly profit down 61 percent." Meanwhile, Sony is feeling the pain as well; the company sold 500,000 fewer PS3 consoles than in the previous quarter, and PSP sales saw an even bigger drop. Interestingly, Sony also revealed that the manufacturing cost of the PS3 has now dropped 70% since it was released. The drop in sales has caused the resurgence of rumors about console price cuts.
Games

Heavy Rain, BioShock 2 Delayed 61

Posted by Soulskill from the pulling-a-duke dept.
Quantic Dream has announced that their much-anticipated thriller Heavy Rain is being pushed back to 2010. Co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere said that the game is on-time and on-budget, but also that they don't want it to come out at the same time as many other high-profile games. "Most publishers today realize that it's not ideal to release a new IP or a new genre just before Christmas. It's a very crowded place to be, and certain games need more space to live their life. Everybody at working on the project, both at Quantic and Sony, believe this is the right time." Meanwhile, Take-Two announced that BioShock 2 would be delayed as well, backing off from their October 30th EU release date and saying it will come out during the "first half of calendar 2010."

Has Bing Already Overtaken Yahoo? 319

Posted by CmdrTaco from the very-good-name dept.
nk497 writes "Microsoft's newly revamped search tool Bing has already overtaken Yahoo in the US and globally, according to StatsCounter. The net traffic watcher said Bing has topped Yahoo 16.28% to 10.22% in the US, and 5.62% to 5.13% globally. Though the firm noted Bing's popularity may drop off after the excitement wears off, the firm also said: 'Steve Ballmer is quoted as saying that he wanted Microsoft to become the second biggest search engine within five years. Following the breakdown in talks to acquire Yahoo at a cost of $40 billion it looks as if he may have just achieved that with Bing much sooner and a lot cheaper than anticipated.' Google, of course, still leads by a considerable margin."

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